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Sunbathing ups men's testosterone

A spot of sunbathing may be just the thing to lift a
man's libido, say experts after an Austrian study finds testosterone is boosted
by vitamin D.

The bulk of this essential nutrient is made by the skin
on exposure to sunlight. The rest comes from the diet.

A study in Clinical Endocrinology journal of 2,299 men
found those with enough of the vitamin had more of the male sex hormone than
those with less.

Blood levels of both dipped in the winter and peaked in
the summer.

Low testosterone levels can impact on a man's libido as
well as zap energy levels.

It also performs essential functions in both men and
women such as maintaining muscle strength and bone density.

Men who ensure that their body is at least sufficiently
supplied with vitamin D are doing good for their
testosterone levels and their libido among other things

Ad Brand of the Sunlight Research Forum

The researchers from the Medical University of Graz,
Austria, found men with at least 30 nanograms of vitamin D per millilitre of
blood had much more testosterone circulating than those lacking in vitamin D.

Across the 2,299 men studied, testosterone and vitamin D
levels appeared to peak in the month of August, and drop off in the winter,
hitting their lowest levels in March.

Professor Winfried Marz and colleagues, who ran the
study, said scientists should now look at whether vitamin D supplements would
have the same effect on testosterone.

Ad Brand of the Sunlight Research Forum in The
Netherlands, a non-profit organisation set up to inform the general public on
latest medical research on sun and health, said: "Men who ensure that their body
is at least sufficiently supplied with vitamin D are doing good for their
testosterone levels and their libido among other things."

Cancer experts warn that too much sun exposure is
damaging for the health.

Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in Andrology at the
University of Sheffield, said: "We know that medically we can increase the
libido and general well-being of men who have low levels of testosterone by
giving them testosterone replacement therapy.

"However, this is for a defined set of medical
circumstances where testosterone production is low.

"Whether healthy men notice a significant changes
throughout the year is less clear and I would urge men to be sensible about
using sunbeds in the winter months given the known risks of using them
excessively."

Jessica Harris of Cancer Research UK said: "Enjoying the
sun safely while taking care not to burn should help people strike a balance
between making enough vitamin D and avoiding a higher risk of skin cancer.

"People can also top up their levels of vitamin D by
eating more foods like oily fish such as salmon, trout or mackerel."